WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — For those who missed Uptown’s version of Restaurant Week earlier this year, the '#WHIN and Dine' team is bringing back some of the best prix-fixe menus on the block for another edition of the event.
“It was a request from many of the restaurants,” said Ariel Ferreira, CEO and founder of UpStep, the event's coordinator. “For many restaurants, it was very successful in April.”
The foodie event features three-course dinners for $26.95 from Monday through Friday at participating restaurants.
UpStep launched the series in 2013 with just 15 restaurants, but the roster has jumped to 28 eateries amid a nightlife boom in Inwood — and Ferreira doesn't see it slowing down.
“I have a lot [of restaurants] saying they’re going to come back next year,” he said. “So it’ll be up in the high 30s.”
In order to participate, restaurants pay for marketing and promotional costs, including a listing in the #WHIN and Dine mobile app. The event not only provides a boost for many #WHIN and Dine originals, like Mamajuana Cafe and 809 Bar & Grill, but also the newer establishment like Heights Tavern and Inwood Bar and Grill, which reopened last week.
The event kickoff is set for Monday night at Inwood's Fantastic Restaurant & Lounge, hosted by online celebrity Michael "Juan Bago" Diaz, know for his popular parody videos.
"I'm excited," he said, "and I'm hoping my skills will induce people's appetite."
#WHIN and Dine runs from this Monday through Friday, Nov. 20.
